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apple and onion loaf

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Dan Lepard’s recipe from ‘Short and Sweet’. A hell of a tasty loaf, this, one of the best – and I’ve made a few.

It should be called a Birdfeeder loaf though, because the amount of seeds in it is staggering. At first I was going to reduce it – a full baking tray of toasted seeds going into one little loaf! But then I thought – trust Dan. His recipes do not fail. You might be mixing a cake and it looks all WRONG, not remotely like anything edible whatever treatment you subject it to – and it comes out great.

Likewise here - I smothered the rest of the ingredients with pumpkin and sunflower, the flour was hardly visible among the seeds but it came together fine, proved and rose and baked into a quite a stunner. Just with butter is excellent. But toasted – to die for.

I used an ordinary eating apple here, Braeburn I think, and a small red onion. Great flavour thanks to those two.

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7. Toast the seeds for about 5 minutes until golden.

2. Grate the apple, mix in a bowl with chopped onion, the flours, the toasted seeds, salt and the yeast. Add the warm water and the beer and mix with a dough hook attachment for a couple of minutes. Leave to rest for 10 minutes then mix or knead again on an oiled surface – or in the mixer with a few drops of oil added. Leave in a warm place for an hour.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, stretch and fold onto itself and shape into a round or tapered loaf. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment, seam down. Cover and leave for another hour.

4. Bake in hot oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180C/350F/gas 4 and bake for further 20 minutes.